Valve assembly for exhaust system

ABSTRACT

A valve assembly for an exhaust system of a dump vehicle having a chassis supporting an operator&#39;&#39;s cab and a pivoted materialhandling body. The valve assembly is carried by the chassis and adapted to direct exhaust gases upwardly into the hollow interior of the body when the latter is in a lowered load-retaining position and is adapted to direct exhaust gases toward the ground when the body is in a raised dumping position.

United States Patent [1 1 [111 3,731,973 Kermode 1 ay 8, 1973 [54] VALVEASSEMBLY FOR EXHAUST FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS SYSTEM 735,2058/1955 Great Britain ..298/l H [75] Inventor: Harold L. Kermode,Richfield, Ohio 778,255 7/1957 Great Britain ..298/l H [73] Assignee:General Motors Corporation, Primary Examiner Richard J Johnson Detrolt,Mlch- Assistant Examiner-Reinhard Eisenzopf 22 Filed; Sept. 30 1971AttrneyJ. L. Carpenter et al.

[21] Appl. No.: 185,128 57 ABSTRACT A valve assembly for an exhaustsystem of a dump [52] US. Cl ..298/l H, 48/58, l37/625.25 vehicle havinga chassis supporting an operator's cab [51] Int. Cl. ..B60p 1/00 and apivoted material-handling body. The valve as- [58] Field of Search..298/] H; l37/625.27, sembly i8 Carried y the Chassis and adapted todirect gm 2515; 43 exhaust gases upwardly into the hollow interior ofthe body when the latter is in a lowered load-retaining [56] ReferencesCited position and is adapted to direct exhaust gases toward the groundwhen the body is in a raised dumping posi- UNITED STATES PATENTS3,664,706 /1972 Chant ..298/l H 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures H 5 is Mg i5 I l n l m l: 45 45 O 59 r e I H 4 I I o *5 f W w 6 s I o L 44L U I L48 Q 4g 442 N W a at Pmmmm'mw SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVENTUR. zizam/d n ATTORNEY PATENTEI] MY 8 H973 SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR. g vam Z.

ATTORNEY VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR EXHAUST SYSTEM The present inventionconcerns a valve assembly which is to be incorporated with the exhaustsystem of a dump truck for purposes of directing the exhaust gases intothe dump body when the latter is in the lowered position so as to heatthe body and prevent the material therein from sticking to the sidewalls during cold weather operation. When the body is raised for dumpingthe load, the valve assembly serves to close the outlet opening leadingto the body structure and divert the gases toward the ground.

In the preferred form, the valve assembly made according to theinvention comprises a housing having an inlet opening that is connectedwith the engine for receiving exhaust gases therefrom. The housing alsohas a pair of axially aligned outlet openings, one of which serves toconnect the exhaust gases with the hollow interior of the dump body,while the other directs the gases toward the ground. A closure member issupported in the housing between the outlet openings for movement alonga vertical axis so as to alternately open and close the outlet openingsdepending upon the position of the dump body. A spring located withinthe housing serves to bias the closure member upwardly to close theoutlet opening to the dump body when the latter is in the raised dumpingposition, while at the same time opening the other outlet opening. Aconduit is provided on the bottom of the dump body and is adapted toextend through the outlet opening to the body when the latter is in thelowered position. As a result, the free end of the conduit contacts andmoves the closure member downwardly and thereby connects the interior ofthe housing with the hollow interior of the dump body while closing theother outlet opening.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a valve assemblywhich directs the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine intothe hollow body structure of a dump body when the latter is in a loweredposition and directs the gases toward the ground when the body is in araised position; to provide a valve assembly which causes exhaust gasesto flow through one of two openings which are adapted to be opened andclosed by a closure member supported for reciprocal movement along avertical axis; and to provide an exhaust diverter system for a dumptruck that has a conduit projecting from the bottom of the dump bodywhich is adapted to physically contact and open a closure member of avalve assembly when the dump body is in a lowered position and therebypermit the exhaust gases to be directed into the hollow interior of thedump body.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description when taken with the drawings inwhich;

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a dump truck incorporating a valveassemble made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the valve assemblyincorporated with the dump truck of FIG. 1 and shows the relativepositions of the various parts of the valve assembly when the dump bodyis in a lowered load-retaining position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but shows the relative positions ofthe parts of the valve assembly when the dump body is in a raisedposition; and

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are views taken on lines 4--4, 5- 5, 66, and 77respectively of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly FIG. 1 thereof, anoff-highway rear dump truck 10 is shown having a chassis 12 comprising aframe 13 that is mounted on longitudinally spaced front and rear axles14 and 16 which respectively support wheels 18 and 20. The front end ofthe chassis 12 is provided with an internal combustion engine 22 whichprovides drive to the rear wheels through a suitable gear train (notshown). An operators cab 23 is supported by the front end of the chassis12 adjacent the engine 22 and, as is conventional, includes a steeringwheel and controls (not shown) for operating the vehicle. In addition,the chassis 12 supports a load-retaining container or dump body 24, therear lower portion of which is connected by a pivotal connection 26 tothe rear end of the frame 13. As shown in full lines, the dump body 24is in the lowered load-retaining position and is movable to the raiseddumping position shown in phantom lines through a multistage hydrauliccylinder 28, the lower end of which is connected to the frame 13 by apivotal connection 30.

During cold weather operation of rear dump trucks of the type describedabove, it has been found that the moisture in the material will causethe latter to freeze to the bottom and side walls of the dump body. As aresult, the dump body will frequently retain part of the load at alltimes resulting in inefficient use of the loadcarrying capacity of thebody. In order to alleviate this problem, it has been customary to havethe trucks equipped with a body heating system in which the hot exhaustgases from the engine flow into the body structure of the dump body toheat the latter and thereby prevent the material from adhering thereto.In this regard, it will be noted that the rear dump truck 10 shown inFIG. 1 incorporates a body heating system of the type referred to above.The body heating system includes an exhaust pipe 32, the front end 34 ofwhich is connected to the engine 22, while the rear end 36 is connectedto a valve assembly 38 which is made according to the invention andserves to direct the exhaust gases into the hollow interior of the dumpbody 24 when the latter is in the lowered position of FIG. 1 and divertthe exhaust gases toward the ground when the dump body 24 is in theraised dumping position.

As seen in FIG. 2, the valve assembly 38 comprises a housing 40 which isconnected by support brackets 42 and 43 to the upper portion of frame 13at spaced points located intermediate the front and rear axles l4 and16. The housing 40 has a completely enclosed chamber M which receivesexhaust gases from the engine 22 via the exhaust pipe 32 which isconnected to the housing at an inlet opening or port 45. The housing 40includes a pair of vertically spaced walls 46 and 48 located inhorizontal planes and provided with axially aligned circular outletopenings 50 and 52, respectively. The opening 52 serves to communicatethe chamber 44 with a downwardly extending cylindrical pipe 54 which isrigidly connected at its upper end to the wall 48 and serves to directexhaust gases toward the ground.

A closure member 56 is supported within housing 40 for movement along avertical axis between the lowered position shown in FIG. 2, wherein theclosure member 56 blocks the flow of gases from the chamber 44 into thepipe 54 but permits flow into the body 24 and the raised position shownin FIG. 3, wherein the closure member 56 closes the opening 50 butallows gas flow through the pipe 54. In this regard, it will be notedthat the closure member 56 comprises a rectangular plate 58 with thelower surface thereof rigidly secured at the center thereof to the upperend of a vertically orientated guide rod 60. The lower end of the guiderod 60 is slidably received within a sleeve 62 which is centrallypositioned within the pipe 54 by four identical web sections 64, 66, 68,and 70 which as seen in FIG. 7 are equally circumferentially spacedabout the sleeve 62 with the opposite ends of each web section beingrigidly secured to the sleeve 62 and the inner surface of the pipe 54. Acoil spring 72 is wound about the guide rod 60 and has one end engagingthe lower surface of the plate 58 and the other end engaging the top ofthe sleeve 62. Thus, when the body 24 is in the phantom line position ofFIG. 1, the closure member 56 is positioned by the spring 72 into theraised position of FIG. 3 to cause plate 58 to close the outlet opening50 in the wall 46 and at the same time cause gas to flow into pipe 54.To realize the latter, the closure member 56 includes a skirt section 74which is cylindrical in cross section and has an outer diameter slightlysmaller than the diameter of the outlet opening 52 in the wall 48 so asto permit the skirt section 74 to extend into the opening 52 andreciprocate relative thereto. The free lower end of the skirt section 74is formed with four radially extending openings 76 circumferentiallyequally spaced about the free end. Thus, the openings 76 serve tocommunicate the chamber 43 with the pipe 54 when the closure member 56is in the aforesaid raised position of FIG. 3.

Although not shown, the body structure of the dump body 24 isessentially hollow in that it is provided with passages which arelocated in the side walls and also in the floor portion of the body. Inaddition, suitable baffles are provided in the body passages fordirecting exhaust gases in a manner so that heating of substantially theentire body structure occurs after which the gases are exhausted throughports 78 located at the rear of the dump body 24. In this case, thepassages within the dump body 24 are connected to a port 80 formed inthe floor portion as seen in FIG. 2. The port 80 rigidly supports acylindrical conduit 82 having an outer diameter that is less than thediameter of the opening 50. The lower end of the conduit 82 is providedwith a plurality of radially extending openings 84 equal in number andsimilar to those formed in the skirt section 74 of the closure member56. An upper ring 86 is secured to the outer diameter of the conduit 82and is adapted to slidably support three equally circumferentiallyspaced bolts 88, the head end of each of which is rigidly secured to alower ring 90. A coil spring 92 is wound around the shank of each bolt88 and normally biases the ring 90 downwardly as seen in FIG. 3.

It will be noted that the port 80 and accordingly the conduit 82 islocated in a position on the dump body 24 so that when the latter is inthe lowered load-retaining position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the centerlongitudinal axis of the conduit 82 is coaxial with the center of theopenings 50 and 52. As a result, when the body 24 is lowered from thephantom line position to the full line position, the conduit 82registers with and extends through the opening 50 to contact the uppersurface of plate 58 and causes the closure member 56 to move downwardlyagainst the bias of spring 72 to the position of FIG. 2. It can be seenthat after the conduit 82 moves into the housing 40 a predetermineddistance, the ring contacts the upper surface of the wall 46 and servesto diminish the size of the opening 50 and thereby helps prevent exhaustgases from escaping into the atmosphere through any opening that mayexit between the outer diameter of the conduit 82 and the opening 50. Atthe same time, the chamber 44 in the housing 40 is fluidly connectedwith the conduit 82 through the openings 84 formed therein, while theopening 52 in the wall 48 is closed by the upper portion of the skirtsection 74 so that the exhaust gases can only flow through the conduit82 into the body structure of the dump body 24. It should be apparentthat when the dump body 24 is moved to the raised dumping position ofFIG. 1, the conduit 82 is retracted from the opening 50 permitting theclosure member 56 to rise upwardly into the position of FIG. 3 to closethe opening 50 and connect the chamber 44 with the pipe 54 throughopenings 76 as explained above.

Various changes and modifications can be made in this constructionwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Such changes andmodifications are contemplated by the inventor and he does not wish tobe limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

l. A valve assembly for a vehicle having a chassis supporting anoperators cab and a pivoted materialhandling container having a hollowbody structure, the valve assembly adapted to direct exhaust gasesupwardly into said hollow body structure when the material-handlingcontainer is in a lowered load-retaining position and adapted to directthe exhaust gases downwardly toward the ground when the material-hamdling container is in a raised dumping position, said valve assemblycomprising a housing having a first outlet opening and a second outletopening formed therein, a closure member, means supporting said closuremember in said housing for translational movement between a firstposition wherein said closure member closes the first outlet opening andopens the second outlet opening and a second position wherein saidclosure member closes the second outlet opening and opens the firstoutlet opening, a spring biasing said closure member into said firstposition when the material-handling container is in the raised dumpingposition, a conduit secured to and projecting downwardly from saidmaterial-handling container and communicating with said hollow bodystructure, said conduit extending into said first outlet opening whenthe material-handling container is in the lowered loadretaining positionso as to directly contact the closure member and cause the latter to bemoved into the second position against the bias of said spring.

2. A valve assembly for a vehicle having a chassis supporting anoperators cab and a pivoted materialhandling container having a hollowbody structure, the valve assembly adapted to direct exhaust gasesupwardly into said hollow body structure when the material-handlingcontainer is in a lowered load-retaining position and adapted to directthe exhaust gases toward the ground when the material-handling containeris in a raised dumping position, said valve assembly comprising ahousing adapted to receive exhaust gases and having a first outletopening and a second outlet opening formed therein, a pipe attached tosaid housing at said second outlet opening for directing exhaust gasesdownwardly toward the ground, a closure member in said housing betweensaid first and second outlet openings, said closure member comprising ahorizontal plate rigidly attached to a depending skirt portion havingapertures formed therein, a rod attached to said plate for supportingthe latter in the housing for translatory movement along a vertical axisbetween a first position wherein said plate closes the first opening andthe skirt portion opens the second outlet opening and a second positionwherein said skirt portion closes the second opening and the plate opensthe first outlet opening, a spring biasing said plate into said firstposition when the material-handling container is in the raised dumpingposition, a conduit projecting from said material-handling container andcommunicating with said hollow body structure, said conduit having afree end adapted to be located in said first outlet opening when thematerial-handling container is in the lowered position so as to contactthe plate and cause the latter to be moved into the second positionagainst the bias of said spring, and the free end of said conduit havingat least one radially extending opening formed therein for communicatingthe interior of said housing with the hollow body structure when thematerial-handling container is in the lowered position.

1. A valve assembly for a vehicle having a chassis supporting anoperator''s cab and a pivoted material-handling container having ahollow body structure, the valve assembly adapted to direct exhaustgases upwardly into said hollow body structure when thematerial-handling container is in a lowered load-retaining position andadapted to direct the exhaust gases downwardly toward the ground whenthe material-handling container is in a raised dumping position, saidvalve assembly comprising a housing having a first outlet opening and asecond outlet opening formed therein, a closure member, means supportingsaid closure member in said housing for translational movement between afirst position wherein said closure member closes the first outletopening and opens the second outlet opening and a second positionwherein said closure member closes the second outlet opening and opensthe first outlet opening, a spring biasing said closure member into saidfirst position when the material-handling container is in the raiseddumping position, a conduit secured to and projecting downwardly fromsaid material-handling container and communicating with said hollow bodystructure, said conduit extending into said first outlet opening whenthe materialhandling container is in the lowered load-retaining positionso as to directly contact the closure member and cause the latter to bemoved into the second position against the bias of said spring.
 2. Avalve assembly for a vehicle having a chassis supporting an operator''scab and a pivoted material-handling container having a hollow bodystructure, the valve assembly adapted to direct exhaust gases upwardlyinto said hollow body structure when the material-handling container isin a lowered load-retaining position and adapted to direct the exhaustgases toward the ground when the material-handling container is in araised dumping position, said valve assembly comprising a housingadapted to receive exhaust gases and having a first outlet opening and asecond outlet opening formed therein, a pipe attached to said housing atsaid second outlet opening for directing exhaust gases downwardly towardthe ground, a closure member in said housing between said first andsecond outlet openings, said closure member comprising a horizontalplate rigidly attached to a depending skirt portion having aperturesformed therein, a rod attached to said plate for supporting the latterin the housing for translatory movement along a vertical axis between afirst position wherein said plate closes the first opening and the skirtportion opens the second outlet opening and a second position whereinsaid skirt portion closes the second opening and the plate opens thefirst outlet opening, a spring biasing said plate into said firstposition when the material-handling container is in the raised dumpingposition, a conduit projecting from said material-handling container andcommunicating with said hollow body structure, said conduit having afree end adapted to be located in said first outlet opening when thematerial-handling container is in the lowered position so as to contactthe plate and cause the latter to be moved into the second positionagainst the bias of said spring, and the free end of said conduit havingat least one radially extending opening formed therein for communicatingthe interior of said housing with the hollow body structure when thematerial-handling container is in the lowered position.